In the world of web development, working with external APIs is a common task. However, some APIs may require sending a body with GET requests, which goes against HTTP/1.1 standards. This can create challenges for developers, especially when using popular libraries like node-fetch. In this article, we'll explore this issue and provide a practical workaround for sending HTTP GET requests with a body in Node.js.

Understanding the Problem

According to the HTTP/1.1 specification (RFC 7231), including a body in GET requests is discouraged. While it's technically allowed, it's not considered a best practice in web development. This limitation can pose challenges when integrating with services that require such requests. When attempting to include a body in a GET request using node-fetch, developers often encounter a TypeError:

TypeError: Request with GET/HEAD method cannot have body.

This error occurs because node-fetch adheres strictly to HTTP standards, preventing the inclusion of a body in GET requests.

The Workaround Solution

To overcome this limitation and successfully send GET requests with a body, we can implement a workaround using the http/https module in Node.js:

import http from 'http'

function makeGetRequest() {
	const filterBody = JSON.stringify({
		filters: [
			{
				email: 'user@email.com'
			}
		]
	})
	return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
		const req = http.request({
			hostname: 'externalserver.com',
			port: 80,
			path: '/api/path', 
			method: 'GET',
			headers: {
				'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
				'Content-Length': filterBody.length,
			},
		}, res => {
			let data = ''

			res.on('data', chunk => {
				data += chunk
			})

			res.on('end', () => {
				resolve(data)
			})
		})
			
		req.on('error', error => {
			reject(new Error(`Something went wrong ${error.message}`))
		})

		req.write(filterBody)
		req.end()
	})
}

Happy Coding!